BRUNO EXCITED FOR 'SPECIAL' GIRONA GAME

24 June 2017

Paul Hazlewood Bruno in action for the Seagulls last season.

Kieran Cleeves

Brighton & Hove Albion captain Bruno is looking forward to a ‘special’ return when the club take on Girona in a pre-season friendly, and urged supporters to make the most of an opportunity to visit the attractive town of Palamos.

The Seagulls come up against the La Liga new boys on Tuesday 1st August and Bruno, who grew up in Catalonia, expressed his excitement at the club’s penultimate pre-season friendly.

He said, “It’s going to be a special game for me - going back to Catalonia. My friends and family will come and watch the game, because it’s in August and everyone will be on their holidays.

“It’s a nice place to go [Palamos]. It’s a touristic place with lovely food and beaches, so for Brighton fans who want to watch the game, it’s the ideal setting.

“The food and wine are great, plus the weather is normally really hot. Palamos is the perfect place for a lovely couple of days.”

Girona secured promotion to La Liga for the first time in their history last season, likewise Albion to the Premier League, and Bruno drew similarities between the clubs ahead of their meeting at Nou Estadi Municipal de Palamos.

“They got promoted last season and had been fighting to get promoted for the last few years - just like us. Our last few years are quite similar, and now we’re both in the top division.

“It’s a humble team. Girona is an hour from Barcelona, and I played a few times there when I played in Spain earlier in my career.

“They’ve got a good link with Manchester City, who send a few players to them throughout the season. It’s a good club and quite a serious club as well.

“It’s not a massive city but the club is growing really quickly. The owners are trying to do things the right way and they’ve been getting stronger every year, so our stories are very similar.”